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Resources and Suggestions
Excerpted from "Risks and Obstacles in Design
and Implementation" developed by the iEARN
Online Science Course 
Facilitators, Lockias Chitanana (Zimbabwe), Diane Midness
(USA), Charles Brewster (Wales) and Kelly Teamey (USA).
Tips for Project Planning
Cover the basics first.
It is usually better to make sure that students learn
the basic content and fundamental skills in more traditional
ways before embarking on solving a problem. Students'
ignorance of fundamental concepts or their misconceptions
may interfere with their ability to understand or benefit
from information accessed during Project Based Learning
activities.
Don't let the activity drive
the instructional content. Let the instructional
content drive the activity. It can be compelling to
have an interesting activity idea and then try to "shoehorn"
in content from the curriculum. However, it is far better
to start with the content, i.e., powerful, central ideas
or complex concepts, then plan activities around this
content in such a way that the challenge associated
with the project is in discovering and using subject-matter
principles.
Don't justify a project solely
on the grounds that students are exercising their minds.
There is sometimes a tendency to endorse the use of
Project Based Learning because project work and the
thinking that goes into the work appear to be intrinsically
"higher-order." Students will not learn new
skills from Project Based Learning unless they are challenged
to do so by the conditions of the project. The tasks,
behaviors, or requirements of the project should prompt
students to develop new skills or construct new knowledge.
Don't be overconfident in the
role that Project Based Learning can play. Project
Based Learning has many benefits, but one of them is
not its efficiency in teaching students the basic skills
of decoding, writing, and computation. Although teachers
might be tempted to eliminate or curtail math instruction
because they have built math into their projects, this
is generally not advisable. Most Project Based Learning
activities emphasize the application of already learned
skills, rather than the introduction and practice of
new skills.
Don't rely on technology merely
because it's available or fun. Tools such as
computer programs, using the Internet, or running a
VCR camera can provide motivating and interesting activities,
but may have minimal educational value. Technological
tools can supplement Project Based Learning, but they
should rarely be the central focus of the project.
Excerpted from "Risks and Obstacles in Design and
Implementation" developed by the iEARN
Online Science Course
Facilitators, Lockias Chitanana (Zimbabwe), Diane Midness
(USA), Charles Brewster (Wales) and Kelly Teamey (USA).
Considerations Concerning Implementation
Beware of bells and whistles.
Often, the project is provocative and/or the technological
tool to be used is compelling, but the driving question
behind the project does not have meaningful ties to
the curriculum or to the performance standards that
students must achieve. Alternatively, a central activity
with a certain amount of provocative attraction (e.g.,
videotaping) deflects the focus of the project (and
sometimes, an enormous amount of time) from the main
ideas.
Designing effective projects means balancing the novel
challenge (the compelling project idea) with educational
richness so that in seeking answers to the challenge,
students must gain understanding of significant subject
matter concepts.
Don't dumb down the task.
To create a project where every student can perform
every task will require limiting project demands to
those that can be met by the least able student. Such
dumbing down of the task can limit the challenge of
the project, restrict the range of learning that might
emerge, and shortcut the possibility that less able
students might learn from their more able peers. It
is probably advisable to let students set their own
limits and challenges.
Beware of trivial activities.
Activities play a key role in Project Based Learning.
Thus, activities should be selected that require students
to integrate information and use complex thought. For
example, given a driving question related to the challenge
of producing energy saving electric vehicles, students
who decide to produce drawings of futuristic automobiles
may not be benefitting from the project as much as students
who develop a comparison chart on the workability of
different kinds of electric vehicles.
Beware of the time it takes
to get up to speed with technology. The decision
to use a database program to investigate a science topic,
for example, may cost weeks of training time as teachers
and students struggle to make sense of the manual and
learn the program.
Be wary of dividing student
labor. When there are central ideas that everyone
should understand, or critical skills that everyone
should obtain, division of labor can lead to differential
learning and differential commitment to the task. Division
of labor can also lead to disappointment when the primary
or more interesting tasks are snatched up by a few.
Don't underestimate the importance
of metacognitive (task- and self-management) skills.
As Blumenfeld and her colleagues noted, "As the
number of ideas to consider or the number of procedures
that need to be followed increases, students may need
to stay organized, track their progress, and maintain
a focus on the problem rather than get confused by its
elements" (1991).
Don't sacrifice breadth of content
for depth of learning. Good Project Based Learning
activities should include an in-depth examination of
critical issues and principles while also requiring
students to learn substantial material in the service
of applying these central issues and principles.
Beware of hands-on projects
that leave minds off. According to Duit, "Student
experiments are given an especially high status in science
instruction because students may be active and carry
out their own investigation. But it is necessary to
be cautious concerning the idea of students being active.
The activity has to be in the head of the students acquiring
scientific knowledge. Student experiments often are
not effective. This is demonstrated by studies in which
the students who carried out experiments were observed
and interviewed. It became apparent that students usually
seem not to have a clear understanding of why they are
carrying out the experiment and what they are investigating"
(1995).
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